WINTER 2018 SPRING 2017 3rd Annual Stanford Drug Discovery Conference April 23-34, 2018 Kenneth Frazier, JD Joe Jimenez, MBA Brent Saunders, JD, MBA Bob Bradway, MBA Patrick Soon-Shiong, MD George Scangos, PhD CEO, Merck Former CEO, Novartis CEO, Allergan CEO, Amgen CEO, NantWorks CEO, Vir Roy Vagelos, MD Janet Woodcock, MD Maria Millan, MD Gary Gibbons, MD Marc Tessier-Lavigne, PhD Brian Kobilka, MD Former CEO, Merck Director, FDA Center President, CIRM Director, NHLBI President Nobel Prize in for Drug Evaluation Stanford University Chemistry, 2012 and Research (CDER) Paul Yock Wins National Academy Faculty of Engineering’s Gordon Prize Recruitment Paul Yock, MD, professor of medicine and of bioengineering at Stan- The Cardiovascular Institute and the De- ford University, will receive the National Academy of Engineering’s partment of Medicine at Stanford Univer- 2018 Bernard M. Gordon Prize for Innovation in Engineering and Tech- sity are recruiting a full-time academic nology Education. faculty with expertise in any of the areas of drug/gene delivery, polymer chemistry/ The academy said Yock was chosen for “the development and global nanotechnology, bioengineering/bioma- dissemination of Biodesign, a biomedical technology training pro- terial sciences, biomedical formulation, Paul Yock, MD gram that creates leaders and innovations that benefit patients.” The clinical medicinal chemistry, medical phar- prize is the academy’s top honor for teaching and carries a $500,000 award. macology/molecular pharmacology, toxicol- Yock, who holds the Martha Meier Weiland Professorship and was the founding co-chair of ogy, bioinformatics, applied proteomics and Stanford’s Department of Bioengineering, is known for his work inventing and testing new pharmacogenomics at the rank of Assistant medical devices in the field of interventional cardiology. Motivated to help other aspiring or Associate Professor in the Non-Tenured innovators succeed in developing devices to improve health care, he founded Stanford Bio- Line-Research (NTL-R). Contact: Mark Mercola design in 2001. Biodesign is part of Bio-X, Stanford’s interdisciplinary biosciences institute. [email protected] https://medicine.stanford.edu/content/dam/ https://news.stanford.edu/thedish/2018/01/08/paul-yock-wins-national-academy-of-engineer- sm/medicine/images/faculty/openpositions/ ings-gordon-prize/ CVI-Med-PCCM-Ad-2017.pdf cvi.stanford.edu | 1 50th Anniversary Celebration of Dr. Norman E. Shumway’s First Heart Transplant Event Dr. Norman E. Shumway performed the first adult heart transplant in the United States here at Stanford on January 6, 1968. To commemo- rate this epic event in history, on January 22, 2018, the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery hosted a celebration of the 50th anniversary. A full day symposium was held at the Li Ka Shing Center for Learning and Knowledge at Stanford University with 350 guests in attendance. We invited a host of speakers from around the country to detail pioneering achievements and contributions as well as provide a glimpse of the future of heart transplantation and technical circulatory support. Dr. Sara Shumway, heart transplant surgeon and daughter of Dr. Norman Shumway, and Dr. Edward Stinson, who assisted Dr. Shumway with the first adult heart transplant were among the luminaries. Guests in attendance were also able to hear a few words from patient Linda Karr, who received a new heart from the rare procedure “dom- ino” transplant performed here at Stanford on January 30, 2016 by Dr. Joseph Woo and Dr. Jack Boyd. She was extremely thankful for the doctors here at Stanford and provided a unique, heartwarming perspective during this historic celebration. About the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute The Institute currently consists of over 241 faculty members representing physicians, surgeons, engineers, basic scientists and clinical researchers. The mission of the Institute is to integrate fundamental research across disciplines and apply technology to prevent and treat cardiovascular disease. To support cardiovascular research and education at CVI, please contact: Joseph Wu, CVI Director, at joewu@ stanford.edu, or Cathy Hutton, Senior Associate Director, Medical Center Development at cathy.hutton@stan- Cathy Hutton, MBA ford.edu For more information: http://med.stanford.edu/cvi/support-our-research.html and http://cvi.stanford.edu cvi.stanford.edu | 2 ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION Dr. Norman E. Shumway’s First Heart Transplant cvi.stanford.edu | 3 Gerald Reaven, Scientist Who Coined ‘Syndrome X,’ Dies at 89 By Tracie White, Office of Communication & Public Affairs Gerald “Jerry” Reaven, MD, who gained inter- later became known as metabolic syndrome and has become a use- national recognition for coining the term Syn- ful indicator of increased risk for heart disease, stroke and diabetes. drome X — now known as metabolic syndrome “I visited him at his house just before the Super Bowl in February, — died Feb. 12 at his home on the Stanford Uni- when I knew he was sick,” said Joshua Knowles, MD, an assistant pro- versity campus. He was 89. fessor of cardiovascular medicine. “He was very sad he couldn’t be at An endocrinologist and professor emeritus of work. I brought a paper on the effects of insulin resistance on differ- medicine at the Stanford School of Medicine, ent race ethnicities. He wanted to see the data. Science was his life.” Reaven was one of the first researchers to argue for the existence of Reaven was a Midwesterner and a baseball fan. He was born in insulin resistance, a diminished response to the hormone insulin. Gary, Indiana, on July 28, 1928, but grew up in Cleveland, which It was a controversial concept that met with huge opposition. But accounts for his lifelong “affection and frustration” with the Cleve- Reaven proved the naysayers wrong. In 1988, he also introduced land Indians baseball team, said his son, Peter Reaven, MD, an en- the novel idea of a link between insulin resistance and a cluster of docrinologist and director of the diabetes research program at the other metabolic abnormalities that together greatly increased the Phoenix Veterans Affairs Health Care System in Arizona. risk for cardiovascular disease, which he called Syndrome X. “Both my dad and my mom were academics,” he said. His moth- “Jerry Reaven was a true Stanford pioneer,” said Lloyd Minor, MD, er, Eve Reaven, PhD, is a retired electron microscopist who lives in dean of the School of Medicine. “He was the consummate scientist the Stanford home where she and Jerry raised their three children. whose rigorous scholarship was a model for researchers at Stan- “Often dinner conversations were about academics and science. ford and around the world. He will be missed.” Somehow that became comfortable.” Reaven broke ground when he argued for the existence of insulin Reaven earned his undergraduate and medical school degrees at resistance as an early and critical link in the development of Type the University of Chicago and completed his residency training at 2 diabetes and conducted numerous studies over many decades the University of Michigan. He joined the Stanford faculty in 1960. proving the existence of insulin resistance and its many implica- He worked at the School of Medicine first in the endocrinology divi- tions for metabolic diseases and cardiovascular diseases. sion and then, after semi-retirement, in the cardiovascular division. “Jerry Reaven was a giant in the Department of Medicine,” said Reaven won numerous awards, including the William S. Middleton Robert Harrington, MD, professor and chair of medicine at Stan- Award for outstanding achievement in medical research from the ford. “His scientific contribution in describing and then further Veterans Affairs Administration, the Banting Medal for Scientific defining insulin resistance is one of the great achievements in met- Achievement from the American Diabetes Association, the Banting abolic disease over the last 50 years.” Memorial Lecture from the British Diabetes Association, the Fred Conrad Koch Award from the Endocrine Society, the Distinction In the 1950s, when Reaven started out as a researcher, it was be- in Clinical Endocrinology Award from the American Association of lieved that there was only one type of diabetes and that it was Clinical Endocrinologists, and the National Lipid Association Hon- caused by a lack of insulin. orary Lifetime Member Award. “In the late ’70s early ’80s, there was a lot of controversy about in- In addition to his wife and son, he is survived by daughters Marci Reav- sulin resistance, and Jerry was not shy about standing up and shar- en of New York and Nancy Reaven of Los Angeles and their families. ing his opinions,” said Frederic Kraemer, MD, professor and chief of endocrinology, gerontology and metabolism at Stanford. “He was In lieu of flowers, the family asks for consideration of a memorial tenacious when it came to defending his scientific observations. He donation to support the Gerald M. Reaven Memorial Research Fund didn’t like to accept opinions; he liked to accept facts — facts gener- either online or by making a check payable to “Stanford University” ated from well-controlled scientific investigations.” and sending it to Stanford University Development Services, P.O. Box 20466, Stanford, CA 94309-0466. Please note “In Memory of Dr. In 1988, during the American Diabetes Association Banting award Gerald Reaven” online or on the memo line of the check. lecture, he introduced the concept of the link between insulin re- sistance and other metabolic abnormalities, calling it Syndrome X. http://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2018/02/gerald-reaven-stanford- scientist-who-coined-syndrome-x-dies-at-89.html This constellation of conditions — increased blood pressure, high blood sugar and abnormal HDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels — cvi.stanford.edu | 4 The Secret to Building a Strong Heart Lies in Blood Vessels By Nathan Collins, Stanford News Service Every year, a small but not insignificant number of babies are born with hearts whose muscles are spongy and thin, although exactly what causes that condition isn’t clear.